__________________NO D, NO RING!!!!
With 26 points on 4 of 4 shots from distance in only 20 minutes of PT. Efficient eviceration.
Wolves' fan: ginobili vs. the wolves is like he's just kind of laughing to himself all game...kind of like he thinks it's cute that they're trying to play basketball.[email protected]

This is unbelievable!!! He can create his own space and should benefit with the kickouts and the pick & Roll. Very Exciting.. He helped carry the Bulls in the Playoffs.. Really did not see this coming...

So does this end Gary Neal's time in San Antonio or Del Colo? You would have to think if the Spurs have any money left they would go For Big or SF that could rebound, block shots right? Like a AK-47 type (Not necessarily him of course with his price tag)

In fairness, for his career he's a just a slightly-above-average three-point shooter and shot a paltry 39% from the field during the playoffs (33% from three), needing 9 shots/game to get his 11.1ppg. All of that, though, suggests to me a player who was asked to do too much for his skillset and who will fit in very nicely with the Spurs where he doesn't need to control the ball.

So does this end Gary Neal's time in San Antonio or Del Colo? You would have to think if the Spurs have any money left they would go For Big or SF that could rebound, block shots right? Like a AK-47 type (Not necessarily him of course with his price tag)

"@ESPNSteinLine: Strong indications today that NBA Finals hero Gary Neal will NOT be back with San Antonio. Which is why Spurs moved so fast on Belinelli"

"@ESPNSteinLine: Neal is said to be getting interest in restricted free agency at a price point that San Antonio, to this stage, has been unwilling to match"

AW that warms my heart. This Kid is no joke. He can shoot the ball with Tremendous CONFIDENCE! I like that DARE DEVIL boy!
I also like that he picked a WINNING TEAM ala Spurs!
Manu will help him because Manu can speak Italian too...
Def a Good Move by RC & Front Office!

We have now a good Bench and I am not sure if Neal would fit here anymore, seriously Neal would like Minutes and when he does not get his minutes then we saw his confidence level goes down. Not sure if we can keep Neal anymore?

Now we need another scorer with the remainder of the money we can use this off season.

Go get em RC and FO!

__________________

WOW So fired up and Charged up for this Year 2015! Lets do this again! GSG!

In fairness, for his career he's a just a slightly-above-average three-point shooter and shot a paltry 39% from the field during the playoffs (33% from three), needing 9 shots/game to get his 11.1ppg. All of that, though, suggests to me a player who was asked to do too much for his skillset and who will fit in very nicely with the Spurs where he doesn't need to control the ball.

I wonder if the spurs sign Manu first to reduce his cap number, Belinelli next, and then Tiago will be the one to send us over cap with his Bird rights. This may mean MLE is still In play. Belinelli would play healthy Neal role plus whatever time he takes from Manu/CoJo.

In fairness, for his career he's a just a slightly-above-average three-point shooter and shot a paltry 39% from the field during the playoffs (33% from three), needing 9 shots/game to get his 11.1ppg. All of that, though, suggests to me a player who was asked to do too much for his skillset and who will fit in very nicely with the Spurs where he doesn't need to control the ball.

I think you hit it on the head... He was asked to do too much. With no D Rose, a hurt Deng & a Noah with PF defenses could zoom in on Beli more. I think he will feed off TPs penetration and will be a good fit for SA.... An even better fit if it means no more Neal.

Sounds like the plan is to back up Manu and Parker for 2 years while Hanga and DeColo develop and then they will see where they want to go from there. I still don't see why they are hanging on to Mills unless they see benefits to having a cheerleader.

Sounds like the plan is to back up Manu and Parker for 2 years while Hanga and DeColo develop and then they will see where they want to go from there. I still don't see why they are hanging on to Mills unless they see benefits to having a cheerleader.

Um...because for a 13-15th man on a roster, he's a steal. If he has to play he knows the system and won't kill us. He had a player option he took, so even if they cut him he's on the payroll. He's also not a trade asset without a bigger piece involved.

Sounds like the plan is to back up Manu and Parker for 2 years while Hanga and DeColo develop and then they will see where they want to go from there. I still don't see why they are hanging on to Mills unless they see benefits to having a cheerleader.

Because mills had a player option, which he picked up the second he could. The spurs are getting him on the cheap and he's a capable nba back up...your not being fair to mills by calling him just a cheerleader. He really is a quality back up.

On marco- I couldn't be more excited that the spurs where able to land marco On a steal of a deal no less. The spurs have enough room to sign on the mle to sign one of there rookies if they impress us in vegas. Marco is defiantly an upgrade over the inconsistent neal who should easily find a good nba home.

the only player's the spurs lost are neal and blair. we have the best front office in the league.

RC deserves a raise for this one. I did not see this coming WOW! lets see Gary Neal at a higher price than we could pay or a player that fills the same need for much less Humm that is a tough one , RC the check is in the Mail.

Marco needs to be ready for better passing from Diaw, Splitter, Tony, Manu and Tim. The Bull's bigs were either passing behind him or away from him.. The Spurs passing will be strict money giving him more time and better spacing..

I wouldn't get too excited about this. Looking at their shot charts on Basketball Reference, they are virtually the same guy: very similar shooting stats both 2s and 3s, similar height and weight (Neal is 1" shorter and 20lbs heavier). The main difference I see is that Neal shoots from everywhere on the floor while Belineli shot from very specific spots both inside and outside the three which was probably a function of Chicago's offense.

One thing to note, this was an off year for Neal. He was struggling with foot problems all year. His production the year before is probably more indicative of his performance and in that year he was better than Belineli. Also, I really haven't seen much of Belinili's game, but I do know that Neal is a fearless shooter. If he's got the ball and he's open, he'll put it up from anywhere. That might be something we are going to miss.

Just from looking at the stats this is either a wash or a slight downgrade and since the Spurs are already over the cap, the salary issue is probably insignificant. Actually, this is probably a slightly worse option capwise because the Spurs wouldn't have to use an exception to re-sign Neal while bringing on Belineli will use up that space that could have been used on another player. Only time will tell though.

I wouldn't get too excited about this. Looking at their shot charts on Basketball Reference, they are virtually the same guy: very similar shooting stats both 2s and 3s, similar height and weight (Neal is 1" shorter and 20lbs heavier). The main difference I see is that Neal shoots from everywhere on the floor while Belineli shot from very specific spots both inside and outside the three which was probably a function of Chicago's offense.

One thing to note, this was an off year for Neal. He was struggling with foot problems all year. His production the year before is probably more indicative of his performance and in that year he was better than Belineli. Also, I really haven't seen much of Belinili's game, but I do know that Neal is a fearless shooter. If he's got the ball and he's open, he'll put it up from anywhere. That might be something we are going to miss.

Just from looking at the stats this is either a wash or a slight downgrade and since the Spurs are already over the cap, the salary issue is probably insignificant. Actually, this is probably a slightly worse option capwise because the Spurs wouldn't have to use an exception to re-sign Neal while bringing on Belineli will use up that space that could have been used on another player. Only time will tell though.

Comparing stats isn't going to tell the story as Neal benefited from being in one of the best offenses in the game. Nelli is a cold blooded shooter too and now I wont have to yell at the TV as much with not having to watch Neal's horrible defense, terrible dribbling and sometimes suspect shot selection. Props to the Spurs FO for pulling this one off. Far from a downgrade...

Marco needs to be ready for better passing from Diaw, Splitter, Tony, Manu and Tim. The Bull's bigs were either passing behind him or away from him.. The Spurs passing will be strict money giving him more time and better spacing..

I know almost nothing about Belinelli, but from what I hear he's got a better handle than Neal so he can handle the rock when TP's off the floor. In that respect he helps pick up some of Manu's slack if Manu has a dry spell. Good handle plus solid 3 pt shot means good we have a backup 2 elements that Manu brings. Not many have Manu's court vision though. Good pick up to me!

I know almost nothing about Belinelli, but from what I hear he's got a better handle than Neal so he can handle the rock when TP's off the floor. In that respect he helps pick up some of Manu's slack if Manu has a dry spell. Good handle plus solid 3 pt shot means good we have a backup 2 elements that Manu brings. Not many have Manu's court vision though. Good pick up to me!

Hoopshype's profile agrees with you on the better handle, but another part of the description worries me a little:

RC deserves a raise for this one. I did not see this coming WOW! lets see Gary Neal at a higher price than we could pay or a player that fills the same need for much less Humm that is a tough one , RC the check is in the Mail.

Just saw RC tonight at the scorpions game, He was looking rather chipper.

That is a pretty provocative thing to add to a player's profile, but as I said before, I haven't really seen him play, so I'm not too familiar with his game.

Well, it looks like the Spurs have crossed the Rubicon and alea iacta est (the die is cast). So lets hope for the best and GO SPURS GO

He can make the teammates better than Neal.

Come on guys, this guy is real improvement for Neal. We all love Neal, thanks for Game 3 etc. But he was undersized, the guys who Neal defending (Chalmers, Jack etc) was playing like all-star against us.

Moreover this guy is classy. Cavs offered him more money, but he accepted us. He deserves a huge welcome.

Neal actually compares somewhat favorably with Kyle Korver, who just got a fat contract from the Hawks because of the value of the long-ball in today's NBA. Per 36, Neal outshines Korver in points, although he does shoot at a significantly lower percentage leading to a lower efficiency rating. If Korver's getting $6M/year, Neal should get $4M/year at the least.

Um, Neal in gm3 vs. Bonner in the entire rest of playoffs? Neal with more minutes, but less efficient with higher usage rate. His win sharein the playoffs was half of Bonner's. 0.56 v .115. For comparison Duncan was 1.6, Leonard 1.9, and Parker 1.5....Ginobili managed a .110. Bonner is the more consistent player, partly due to his time in the league. Hey, he could be Rashard Lewis (same age, Lewis came in league younger), only made minimum this year and garnered a negative win share....but for the last few years of his last contract dude was making max cash being Matt Bonner x 1.5.

Neal actually compares somewhat favorably with Kyle Korver, who just got a fat contract from the Hawks because of the value of the long-ball in today's NBA. Per 36, Neal outshines Korver in points, although he does shoot at a significantly lower percentage leading to a lower efficiency rating. If Korver's getting $6M/year, Neal should get $4M/year at the least.

You're right..........Stats don't lie so bring up the points per game etc. lol

Neal might make more than Bonner's contract but Bonner signed that years ago so contracts normally go up and not down.

Neal might or might not get 4 million a year but Bonner is getting 3.9 million this coming year.

To me those per 36-48 per stats are crap because they normally favor the player that plays lesser minutes. Everyone knows that.

Um, Neal in gm3 vs. Bonner in the entire rest of playoffs? Neal with more minutes, but less efficient with higher usage rate. His win sharein the playoffs was half of Bonner's. 0.56 v .115. For comparison Duncan was 1.6, Leonard 1.9, and Parker 1.5....Ginobili managed a .110. Bonner is the more consistent player, partly due to his time in the league. Hey, he could be Rashard Lewis (same age, Lewis came in league younger), only made minimum this year and garnered a negative win share....but for the last few years of his last contract dude was making max cash being Matt Bonner x 1.5.

Neal gets more minutes because he is actually a better player than Bonner. If Bonner was so good he would play more minutes. Bonner averaged 13 minutes in the season and much less in the playoffs. So throw out the crap stats and Neal even though he is a volume shooter is better than Bonner and only made around 850K last year and less the previous two years. Bonner at 3.5 and 3.3 million the last two years not a bargain. Bonner had a good Laker series but did squat afterwards even when he played. Rashard Lewis is crap since last decade................ and true story even went on a date with his ex-girlfriend. And I don't have 100 million dollars plus in my bank account.

It's a very weird point with Neal: Our FO stated that we're not going to match the offer sheet which Neal is going to sign.

That's not a typical behaviour of our FO, we usually don't weaken our restricted free-agent players' hand eventhough we're not going to match the offer.

I think the something went very bad during negotitations with Neal and FO.

It may be there are some teams that are reluctant to offer a restricted free agent a contract if they think is team may match. So it probably won't hurt Neil. If he has interest from multiple teams, it shouldn't really be an issue.

Neal gets more minutes because he is actually a better player than Bonner. If Bonner was so good he would play more minutes. Bonner averaged 13 minutes in the season and much less in the playoffs. So throw out the crap stats and Neal even though he is a volume shooter is better than Bonner and only made around 850K last year and less the previous two years. Bonner at 3.5 and 3.3 million the last two years not a bargain. Bonner had a good Laker series but did squat afterwards even when he played. Rashard Lewis is crap since last decade................ and true story even went on a date with his ex-girlfriend. And I don't have 100 million dollars plus in my bank account.

Sorry, you don't get to throw out stats just because they don't support what you're saying. That's not how statistics works.

apples and oranges. A PF and a combo guard. Sure they both "shoot the three" but you can't say Neal's better because he gets more minutes. Who's he backing up and who's Bonner backing up. Look, I don't like either player and I'm hoping Neal isn't resigned AND Bonner gets included in some trade and/or sign and trade, but trying to compare them based on per minute averages, minutes played or anything like this is silly.

apples and oranges. A PF and a combo guard. Sure they both "shoot the three" but you can't say Neal's better because he gets more minutes. Who's he backing up and who's Bonner backing up. Look, I don't like either player and I'm hoping Neal isn't resigned AND Bonner gets included in some trade and/or sign and trade, but trying to compare them based on per minute averages, minutes played or anything like this is silly.

When were Duncan and Splitter playing heavy minutes during the season? Was Blair playing? Bonner had 13 minutes per game at 3.6 million dollars. Neal was behind TP/Manu and Green and Nando had spot minutes too. Neal was injured most of last year too. I'm sorry if Bonner isn't playing how good is he? He played less during the playoffs. And it's re-signed not resigned! Yes comparing a player who plays versus comparing one who sits or plays 10 seconds in a Finals game is silly. Neal>Bonner